Chapter 34.2

The next day, Li Xiao took Jiang Rou and An An out for dinner.

Jin Dayou had planned to return to school early and wanted to have one last meal with them before leaving.

Li Xin initially didn’t want to go, but Jiang Rou suggested that Jin Dayou should see if she’s in good health before he left, especially since it wouldn’t cost anything.

So, Li Xin agreed.

During the few days she had stayed with the Li family, although she’s still thin, her complexion had improved a lot. She wore the black long cotton-padded jacket Jiang Rou had bought for her, along with a black knitted hat and a red plaid scarf. The half of her face that was exposed looked clean and pretty.

In Jiang Rou’s impression, the Jiang sisters were all quite good-looking. Although the eldest sister looked older now, she wasn’t unattractive in her youth.

Her second sister had been a famous beauty in the village, known for her fair skin and lovely appearance.

As for “Jiang Rou,” her beauty was exceptional, with a refined and scholarly demeanor, which explained why people were willing to offer a dowry of ten thousand yuan.

As for Li Xin, you couldn’t tell much at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that she had a very good appearance—bright and beautiful facial features with rosy lips and white teeth. However, her thin figure made her appear somewhat unremarkable.

In addition to Li Xiao and Jiang Rou, Zhou Jian also brought Wang Yan along.

They reserved a table at the restaurant, and Li Xiao ordered two bottles of white wine.

The three men drank together, while Jiang Rou and the other women sat at a separate table, enjoying the food. Wang Yan looked enviously at the soft, tender baby in Jiang Rou’s arms and mentioned that she wanted a daughter like An An.

Jiang Rou glanced at Wang Yan’s belly and smiled: “Both boys and girls are great. Your Zhou Hong is so well-behaved.”

Wang Yan nodded. “That’s true.”

Then, as if remembering something, she asked Jiang Rou about her next plans. Since Li Xiao was heading south, would Jiang Rou stay here?

Li Xin, who was sitting nearby, overheard this and subconsciously slowed down her eating.

Jiang Rou picked up some meat for her and said, “I’m going to prepare for the college entrance exams first. If Li Xiao makes a name for himself in the south and if my exam results are good, I’ll apply to universities there.”

Then she turned to Li Xin and said, “You should study hard at home for now. In the second half of the year, you’ll start junior high at school. When the time comes, I’ll talk to Aunt Wang. Once your brother-in-law and I are settled down there, we’ll see if we can bring you along to attend high school.”

Li Xin, relieved by this, said, “It’s fine if I stay here for high school. I’ll apply to schools in the south later on.”

Jiang Rou smiled and added more food to her plate.

Meanwhile, Jin Dayou also greeted Li Xiao, asking him to keep an eye out for anyone who resembled him in the south and let him know if he saw anyone.

Li Xiao, knowing that Jin Dayou, despite his usually carefree demeanor, was always concerned about his brother, who had been kidnapped in his childhood, didn’t say anything and simply refilled his glass.

Jin Dayou downed the full glass of wine in one go, his usual playful demeanor replaced by a somber expression.

Halfway through the meal, a group of people came down from the second floor.

Their table was right by the door, so they saw the group clearly as they passed by. Besides a few unfamiliar faces at the front, Zhu Qiang and Wang Tao followed behind.

Zhu Qiang walked next to a short middle-aged man, wearing a flattering smile and seemingly saying something amusing, making the man laugh heartily.

Wang Tao was at the end of the line.

Both Zhu Qiang and Wang Tao noticed them. Zhu Qiang’s face showed a momentary stiffness, while Wang Tao looked a bit awkward and pleased.

Zhu Qiang glanced at them briefly before turning his head away and continuing his conversation, not looking back even as he left.

Wang Tao, on the other hand, hesitated briefly.

Not long after the group left, Wang Tao returned, patted Li Xiao and Zhou Jian on the shoulders, and pulled out two thin red envelopes from his pocket, slipping them into Jiang Rou’s and Wang Yan’s hands.

With a hint of guilt, he glanced at Zhou Jian and said, “I intended to come yesterday but couldn’t make it due to some issues.”

Jiang Rou looked at Li Xiao.

Li Xiao nodded.

Jiang Rou accepted the red envelope, and Wang Yan, seeing this, did the same.

Wang Tao smiled in satisfaction at their acceptance.

Jin Dayou then made space for Wang Tao to sit, and Wang Tao didn’t hesitate, squeezing in between Zhou Jian and Jin Dayou, and casually took a sip from Jin Dayou’s cup.

Jin Dayou, who was sitting next to Li Xin, found the table already quite cramped. As Wang Tao squeezed in, their arms ended up pressing against each other.

Jin Dayou didn’t mind much and was reaching for a clean cup nearby.

But just as his hand was about to touch the cup, a hand suddenly reached out and took it first. He was momentarily stunned.

He turned his head to take a look and met a pair of disgusted eyes. “Mine.”

After saying that, the other person put the cup on the other side.

Jin Dayou clicked his tongue, then withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened.

Wang Tao started talking about recent events involving himself and Zhu Qiang. He mentioned that Zhu Qiang’s situation had worsened: “Their house is indeed going to be demolished. The government has allocated a large house to each household as compensation. It’s really nice, big, and spacious, with three large rooms and a bathroom—you know, like in hotels where you can stand and shower. But to move in, each household has to pay an extra thousand yuan.”

“That thousand yuan is quite a bargain. If it were in the past, Zhu Qiang would definitely be able to afford it, but you also know what happened to his family recently. Let alone one thousand; his family may not even be able to come up with five hundred yuan now.”

“So now he’s considering not keeping the big house, but instead exchanging it for money. This was the topic of discussion when he invited people to lunch today. But it all sounds quite mysterious to me. From what the leaders said, even if he does manage to exchange it, he’ll have to pay for the old house, and the amount he gets won’t be much.”

Zhou Jian was surprised. “What about his uncle?”

Don’t even mention it,” Wang Tao said, waving his hand. “His uncle was pushed out of Jiangnan Mountain Villa during the New Year. His aunt blamed Zhu Qiang, thinking Zhu Qiang offended someone due to his careless actions. Now they don’t even keep in touch with Zhu Qiang’s family. His uncle seems to be heading to S.C. because he can’t find a job in the county. His old restaurant won’t take him back.”

Because of this, Wang Tao had a tough time at Jiangnan Villa.

Wang Tao didn’t stay long. He quickly took a few bites of food and then hurriedly left.

As Zhou Jian watched Wang Tao’s figure disappear through the door, he couldn’t help but comment casually, “I wonder what he’s after.”

When Zhu Qiang was still single, Zhou Jian had doubted Mei Zi—he felt that she was too materialistic. She enjoyed Zhu Qiang’s attention while simultaneously looking down on him.

Now, look at how things turned out. Zhou Jian sneered, “These two will definitely not last long.”

Li Xiao frowned and glanced at him. “Do you need to be so nosy? ”

Zhou Jian quickly dropped his gaze, not daring to say another word.

Seeing the atmosphere at the table become uncomfortable, Jin Dayou turned to Li Xin and said, “Let me see your hand.”

Li Xin was focused on her food, so she didn’t hear him.

Jin Dayou nudged her elbow with his, saying, “Baldy, I’m talking to you.”

The sudden nudge caused the meat on her chopsticks to fall into her bowl.

Li Xin turned her head in disbelief, wondering if she had heard wrong. She then met the man’s mischievous face.
She pursed her lips and wanted to shove the chopsticks in her hand straight into his nostrils.

After dinner, Jiang Rou noticed it was still early, so she took Li Xiao for a stroll through the streets. She bought him two spring outfits, a shiny hairpin for An An, and some snacks.

Not long after they got home, her elder sister and brother-in-law visited. The couple had walked over after hearing that their younger sister was now staying with Jiang Rou and brought some eggs to see her.

When Li Xin saw Sister Jiang, her expression remained indifferent.

She knew her eldest sister was very kind to her brother—her twin brother, who had received much affection from the family.

With so much love, why couldn’t a little of it have been given to her?

Elder Sister Jiang looked at her with pity and only asked Jiang Rou to take good care of her.

Li Xin held An An and sat by the door, playing. When they left, she didn’t even look up.

Later that night, as Jiang Rou and Li Xiao lay in bed, Li Xiao took the initiative to pull her into his arms. . He had turned off the light early, and in the darkness, he nervously lowered his head.

Before his lips even touched hers, his warm breath made Jiang Rou’s face feel hot.

Jiang Rou instinctively leaned back, but Li Xiao held her head in place, whispering, “I could kiss you last night.”

Jiang Rou blushed. “That was different.”

Li Xiao’s voice lowered even further. “How is it different? ”

Jiang Rou didn’t know what exactly was different, but she insisted stubbornly, “It’s different.”

Li Xiao chuckled softly, tilted his head, and pressed his lips against hers. When their lips touched, they both frozen momentarily.

The man’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. After a moment, he lowered his head again, deepening the kiss.

-o-o-o-

They didn’t know how long they had been kissing, but Jiang Rou felt her lips were numb from being kissed by Li Xiao.

She pushed Li Xiao away as she breathed heavily and finally said, “Don’t you want to take a breather? ”

Li Xiao also panted a few times, remained silent, licked his lips, and leaned in again, showing his intent to continue their “activity.”

This time, Jiang Rou dodged him. She covered her mouth and quickly turned over, her back facing him.

Although she had never been in a relationship before, she couldn’t help but think that his kissing skills were a bit lacking. It felt like her lips might split if he kissed her any longer.

Seeing her reaction, Li Xiao touched his lips with a hint of regret.

Then he wrapped his arms around Jiang Rou from behind, lowered his head to brush his lips against her ear, and whispered, “Go to sleep.”

Feeling the softness of her body in his arms, he felt content.

-o-o-o-o-o-